The Catch About Being a Guardian
by BloodBlossom88
Summary: We all know what happens to a Guardian when they lose believers, right? They slowly start turning to what they were before a spirit. What about Jack? He doesn't have many believers. Jack starts to panic when his hair is turning brown. What will happen to our favorite frost spirit? T for a little blood and I'm paranoid! Couldn't think of genres... ONE SHOT.


**HI! I realize I should be working in my other stuff, but I wanted to get this out of my mind! :3**

**I was thinking about the cute tiny Bunny, than through different thoughts, BOOM! This idea. :D**

**An alternate ending will be up later. Till then, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't see why people make a fuss over this... I don't own RotG! If I did, movie 2 would be out. XD**

**The Catch About Being a Guardian**

"Jack! Come back here!"

Jack laughed as he sat on a high tree branch, perfectly balanced. "What's wrong, Jamie?" he teased. "Can't throw a snowball this high?"

The boy below laughed. "No! It's not fair!"

"Come on!" the girl besides him, Pippa, yelled up.

The biggest girl of the group, Cupcake, went to the other side of the tree, made a snowball, and threw it with all her force.

"Well, I think I'll make a proposition!" Jack called down, shifting his weight. "I'll come down if you admit I'm the Snowball Ki-Woah!"

The ball hit its target, causing the winter spirit to fall from his perch, his staff falling besides him and out of reach. He landed in a large snow pile, small specks of snow being tossed in the air from his landing. The children cheered, gave Cupcake a high five, and ran over to the fallen spirit.

"Dog pile!" one of the twins yelled, both Claud and Caleb jumping into the snow and on top of Jack. One by one, more kids hopped on top, making a large mound of laughing kids.

Only less than a year ago had they defeated Pitch. Today was the first Snow Day of the year in Burgess, and the kids were enjoying every second of it! Jack didn't have many believers, only this group of kids. But they were doing their best to spread rumors of the Winter Spirit, Jack Frost.

"No!" Jack yelled over dramatically. "I've been defeated!" The kids laughed as the white haired boy played dead, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

He peaked one blue eye open and smiled. "Actually... I have one more trick."

The Wind blew with such great force, all the kids on top of him were blown off and into another pile. This time, Jamie on the bottom.

Jack jumped up, one foot on the mound of friends. "I am the champion!"

A quick flash of pain flickered through his heart, causing his smile to falter. None of the kids noticed, and he didn't pay much attention. It had been happening all year, and the immortal teen didn't want people to fuss over him.

The kids in front of him untangled themselves and stood up laughing and giggling.

"I don't know about you guys," Claud started, shoving his brother with a smile. "But I'm hungry."

"Yeah," Monty nodded. "I think it's time to go. Bye Jack!"

The oldest laughed. "Alright, see ya tomorrow!" Everyone separated, leaving Jack to walk Jamie home. He always did, considering his first believer's home was the farthest from the park.

"Thanks for the Snow Day, Jack!" Jamie said with a grin as they walked up his driveway.

"No problem, kiddo." The spirit knelt in front of Jamie. "Wait!" Jack held a hand to his heart, concentrating hard. He smiled a bit. "I predict another coming up soon..."

The younger boy cheered and hugged the spirit. "See ya later!"

Before he ran away, Jamie paused, a look of confusion crossing his face. Jack tilted his head. "What? Something on my face?"

He blinked his brown eyes. "No... Since when did you have a brown strand of hair?"

Jack chuckled. "Nice try. I don't."

"No really!" Jamie reached up and grabbed the brown lock. The older boy furrowed his eyebrows at the brown strip just in his eye view.

"I... Don't know... But I'm sure it's nothing!" He gave the boy a reassuring smile. "You just get inside and I'll deal with it later!"

Jamie hesitantly nodded and walked inside. When he was out of view, Jack's smile dropped. Gripping his staff, the spirit flew towards his lake.

Landing on the ice, he quickly dropped to all fours. The spirit rubbed the surface to smooth it and looked in the mirror like reflection. Sure enough, a small strand of his hair was a chocolate brown.

"What the..." he mumbled._ 'I can't let someone else see this...' _

After tucking the brown in the rest of his snow white hair to hide it, Jack stood up and sighed. "I just hope this won't be for long..."

**X.X.X.X.X**

Years later, still nobody noticed the growing brown in his hair. Now that the group of kids were growing up, Cupcake had stopped believing. Jack knew this would happen, but didn't expect it so soon.

As the years went, more and more of them grew up and matured. They were all still friends, but only one still found Jack and the other Guardians as part of the group. Jamie.

Jamie swore he would always believe. He had too much proof not too.

But after Pippa, the last to stop believing, Jamie started to get suspicious. Jack always had his hood up, but would laugh it off when it was mentioned.

He also noticed small things. Like when him and Jack would hang out, Jack got tired quicker than he used to. Deciding this was serious, Jamie pulled out a snow globe from under his bed that North lent him for emergencies.

"If this isn't an emergency," he mumbled to himself, "than I don't know what is..."

Taking a quick look out the window and at the moon, the teen whispered "North's Workshop" into the globe and tossed it on the floor. A white portal with red, green, and yellow swirling within appeared where the ball landed.

Taking a breath, Jamie jumped through.

**X.X.X.X.X**

"JACK!"

The Winter Spirit laughed as he sat perched on the Globe, panting heavily and hood covering his head and eyes. Though no one noticed.

"GET DOWN HERE YA BLOODY SHOW PONY!" Bunny yelled from below.

"Nah!" Jack called back, lying on the metal North Pole. "I think I'm perfectly fine up here."

"Bunny, calm down," Tooth tried to reason, putting a small hand on his furry shoulder.

"Not 'til Jack stops freezing MEH TUNNELS!"

Sandy stood near North, both far from the bickering two. The small man covered his face with his hand in a silent face palm while shaking his head.

Jack was about to talk back, but the pang in his chest returned and knocked the breath out of him. He grit his teeth to prevent himself from screaming._'Not now! Go away!'_

The whirling of a portal drew their attention away from the immortal teenager just as the pain subsided. Jack sighed in relief, happy he wasn't the one with the spotlight.

"Ah!" North called, arms wide. "Jamie! What brings you to pole?"

Jack sat upright, his hood almost coming off. Pulling it back quickly, he wrapped his arms around himself and looked towards the brown haired teenager below._ 'MiM, why's it so cold up here!_' he thought to himself.

"Hi, North," Jamie said, his brown eyes looking around the room. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Not at all!" the jolly man exclaimed, picking up a cookie tray from nearby elves. "Cookie?"

"No, I'm fine. Just had dinner." His gaze slowly moved around the workshop, never before been there, but stopped when he reached the globe. "Hi, Jack..."

Said spirit tilted his head at the trailed off sentence. "Hi?"

Sandy waved his hands to get their attention. When he had the spotlight, a sand question mark appeared above his head.

"Sandy's right," Tooth joined in, three fairies buzzing beside her. "Why are you here?"

"Yeah, I thought North gave ya the globe for emergencies only." Bunny's ears straightened, momentarily forgetting about his frost filled tunnels.

"About that..." Jamie started, not really wanting to talk to them about Jack in _front_ of Jack.

"Spit it out, ya bumby! Some of us have stuff ta do!" The pooka sent a quick glare at the teen still on the globe.

"It's about Jack..." he mumbled, not sure how to put it.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows and hopped off the globe next to Bunny. His stomach clenched, scared at what the teen had to say.

"What about Jack?" North asked, his accent strengthening in worry.

"What did Frostbite do _now_?" Bunny mumbled to himself, rolling his green eyes.

Jamie rubbed his neck. "It's just... He's acting... Different..."

Jack stood straighter, eyes widening in panic._ 'He noticed... Crap, he_ noticed!'

"What do you mean...?" the fairy queen asked, sending a glance to the tensed teen.

Jack took a small step back, his knuckles white from gripping his staff tightly. He had to run, get out of there before anyone could stop him.

Bunny flicked his gaze to Jack. "Where do ya think your goin, Snowflake?" He gripped his paw on Jack's shoulder to hold him in place. "What's he talkin' bout?"

Quickly, Jack ducked and sprinted backwards towards the railing. "Wind!" he screamed as he jumped over. A chilling breeze wrapped around him before he fell any farther, causing him to shiver. It started to pull him towards the nearest window when extra weight added onto him.

"Oh no ya don't!" the oversized rabbit said from on top of him. The two tumbled onto the workshop floor in a heap of fur and cloth.

"Let go of me, Kangaroo!" Jack yelled, desperately trying to crawl away.

"No way!" Bunny grabbed onto his hoodie with his claws and tried to keep the teen under him.

Gripping his hood, he tried to pull Jack down. Wiggling in the tight grip, Jack scrambled to his feet, his staff on the ground behind Bunny. The others ran into the area they were in, only ending up staring in shock at the boy.

At first, Jack was confused. He scanned the five in front of him. His gaze landed on the rabbit still on the floor. More specifically, his hoodie.

His brown eyes went wide with realization.

"J-Jack..?" Tooth stuttered, hands covering her mouth.

Instead of the white haired teen they knew, a replica of him stood before them. His hair was chocolate brown besides a single white strand in the front, his eyes practically the same color. The window behind him flew open, the Wind wrapping around her frost child protectively. This only made Jack shiver and wrap his arms around himself.

"Bloody hell, Frostbite..." Bunny said as he stood up. "Wha' happened...?"

"This is what I mean." Jamie stepped forward, his own arms wrapped around himself from the freezing breeze. "He would rather be inside instead of outside, saying it was too cold for me. Or waring out faster and his hood was always up!" The teen looked Jack in the eyes. "It got worse the more people forgot about him."

North cursed blankly in his Russian language. "He's losing power. Turning human..."

Jack looked down sadly, still breathing heavily.

Just as quickly as before, pain started in his heart again, taking him by surprise. He yelped and fell to his knees, hands clutching his chest while it suddenly got extremely colder for him.

"Jack!" Jamie cried, running towards his friend.

"North!" Tooth yelled, joining Jamie. "What's happening?!"

"I-I do not know!"

Sandy started to flash images quickly above his head.

"What?!" Bunny yelled. "Slower Sandy!"

Giving up, the little man made words above his head. _"It's as though he's dying!"_

"I think we got that!" the pooka exclaimed.

Jack took a deep breath. "It's okay... It happens a lot..."

"WHAT?!" Tooth shouted. "Why didn't you tell us!"

Baby Tooth got in his face and squeaked quickly. Despite the problem, Jack chuckled a bit. "I don't understand you, Baby."

"She said does this have to do with your memories." Tooth looked at the mini her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The smile dropped from Jacks face. He looked up slowly. "No..."

"What?" Jamie asked, still next to him. "What does that mean?"

"I-I... You said I'm turning mortal, right...?"

North nodded, unsure of where this was going.

The Winter Spirit's gaze fell back to the floor. "I-I died when I was a mortal... When I was Jackson Overland..."

Everyone around him stared in shock.

"But-but that's impossible..." Bunny whispered. "Right?"

Sandy shook his head. _"I've heard of Manny doing that..."_

"But to be a Guardian, he had to have saved a kid before becoming a spirit!" Tooth cried, tears starting to form in her eyes.

North walked forward. "I've actually heard of the Overlands. 310 years ago, Emma Overland asked for her brother back for Christmas..."

Jack's shoulders slumped at the sentence.

"So if I stop believing..." Jamie trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"I die..."

**X.X.X.X.X**

Darkness was the only thing in the caverns of an old lair. Cages hung from the ceiling, some on the ground bent and broken. Dust covered the floors and drifted in the air, occasionally getting caught in spiderwebs on the walls.

Alone dark man sat in the middle of it all, face pressed in his palms. His black robes were torn and hair messy as if he was just in a fight.

A purplish black horse galloped over to the man, not scared of him in the least bit. It neighed a few times before prancing away.

Golden eyes shot open from the news the horse brought. A grin spread across his face, revealing white, sharp teeth.

**X.X.X.X.X**

"You will stay here, Jack," North bellowed five minutes after their discovery. "Until we find out cure, you stay at pole."

"What?!" Jack ran forward to walk next to the Santa figure. "What about winter? Snow ball fights? Fun in general?!"

"Kids have fun without you, Jack." The big man opened a door to a guest room. "They will be fine for a while."

The teen gave an over dramatic sigh. "Can I at least say goodbye to Jamie?"

"Jamie has already left. I gave him another snow globe in case of emergency. You will see him soon." North pushed Jack into the bright blue room. "Now rest. You need it now more."

With this, the door closed shut leaving Jack in a blue walled room filled with white furniture. "Obviously made for me..." he mumbled.

He flopped onto the white bed sheets with a groan. "I'll sleep for now, I guess..."

**X.X.X.X.X**

Brown eyes flickered open as sunlight filled the room. Jack sat up and stretched, hand reflexively going for his staff. Feeling around, all he felt was soft blankets.

The teen groaned. "I left it out there... How am I supposed to leave?"

Taking a deep breath, Jack stood and walked quietly to the door. He peaked it open just enough to look down the empty hall. He pulled the door open slowly and stepped into the hallway.

Closing the door, Jack quietly snuck through the workshop, keeping out of view of any yetis or elves. As he passed Norths office, he opened the door slightly, wincing at the slight creaking noise.

Peaking in, Jack deflated at what he saw.

North was asleep in his chair, head in his arms on the desk. In the corner of the room, of course, was his staff with the blue hoodie hanging from the crook. Two elves were sleeping in the ground near the stick leaning on the wall.

Jack stepped back to take a reassuring breath before stepping into the room.

Careful not to make any noise, the teen crept across the floor. It didn't take long to grab the staff, relief flushing through him as frost spread across the wood. He stepped back, just barely knocking the bell of an elf. He winced, and looked down. The little guy shifted in his sleep to a position where his arm was around the other elf.

Jack would have laughed had he not been on a "Mission Impossible" for his staff. At thinking this, he smiled and thought of the tune of the song in his head. Jamie and him had watched a lot of movies.

All happiness vanished at the sound of a loud crack. He flinched and lifted his foot off the ice train below it. Well, what used to be an ice train.

His gaze shot to the nearest movement in the room. North sat up sleepily, eyes still closed.

Scared to move, Jack prepared to run.

The large man just stretched and leaned back in his chair. Soon enough, snores sounded throughout the room again.

Jack quickly made it out of the room and closed the door with a quiet _click_. He was tempted to jump in the air and yell in victory, but rethought that quickly. Instead, the spirit put on the hoodie and rushed away from the oncoming yetis.

Hurrying to the window, he opened it and jumped out into the loving, yet extremely freezing, embrace of the Wind.

**X.X.X.X.X**

His destination was obvious. If he was to die, he wanted to be at his home. Or The Lake, as everyone called it. No one knew why he liked the lake so much. Jack never did tell anyone. To be honest, it wasn't the lake the teen liked to much.

It was the abandoned cabin near it.

The spirit walked through the newly formed snow on the ground. He looked up at the wooden house and smiled.

"Ya never know, Em," he said to no one. "I might be joining you sooner than ya think."

Jack stepped into the home and looked around. It was the same as how he remembered, but a lot older looking. The living room he stood in looked worn down, the chairs on the ground and walls chipped and splintered. Stairs beside him lead to his and Emma's room along with his parents. The spirit walked to the stairs and started up them.

"Jack?"

The teen wasn't even halfway up when he heard the voice. Jacks brown gaze flicked back to the doorway.

"Jamie?" he asked, confusion written clearly on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." The younger teen walked into the home, careful of the wood. He didn't trust it to not fall in.

"I couldn't spend my days cramped up in a room." Jack leaned on the stair railing. "Plus, you know I don't follow the rules!"

Jamie laughed, his mind flickering to all the snowball fights they had where Jack would find some way to cheat.

"I'm well aware."

Jack chuckled and hopped down next to the boy. "How'd you find me, anyways?"

Jamie smiled. "Not too hard when it snows every time you're here. All I had to do was go to The Lake and follow the footprints." He looked around the home. "Imagine my surprise when I find you here..."

"It's my old home," the spirit answered, though the question wasn't asked.

"Oh, getting home sick?"

"No. Just..." Jack looked up the stairs. "Just miss my little sister."

"Aw, isn't this sweet?"

The two jumped and looked around the room. Jack narrowed his eyes as the voice clicked in his head.

"Pitch," he hissed.

"Are you upset to see me, Jack?" the voice asked, sounding as if it was all around them. "Quite a shame. I came to help you."

Jamie pressed his back against Jack's, both boys ready to fight if needed.

"What do you mean, help?"

"I know your little problem, Jack." The shadow's umbra seemed to move throughout the room tauntingly. "And seeing you here just proves it."

"How did you...?"

"My Nightmares are everywhere, in every shadow." Golden eyes glared at him from across the room. "They may not be scared of me anymore, more free willed, thanks to _you_, but they still report to me."

Ice shot out from Jack's staff, hitting the area the eyes had lurked only seconds ago.

"Careful, Jack!" Pitch said with fake concern as the house creaked. "You don't want the house to collapse..."

"What do you want, Pitch?!" Jamie yelled, gaining confidence slowly.

"I already told you, boy. I know about Jack's problem, the pain in his chest." The room seemed to darken drastically. "So I thought: 'Maybe I should help!'"

Fingers wrapped around Jack's neck, pushing him towards the fireplace. The gray hand held him up on the wall while the other took the staff.

Pitch brought his lips beside Jacks ear. "How about I put him out of his misery?"

The old wood behind him suddenly burst to life, the flames licking at his old pants. Pitch tightened his grip on the spirit's neck, causing pale hands to claw at his arms.

"Stop! Please!" Jamie cried from behind. Jack gasped for breath, water dripping down his face from the heat.

"Stop!" The teen ran forward and tackled Pitch to the ground. The three were spread across the ground in a mound of flailing limbs.

Jack, once he caught his breath, stood up first and pulled Jamie away from the nightmare king.

"Jamie, listen!" he exclaimed, one hand on each shoulder. "I need you to get the others! Run from here and get the other Guardians!"

"B-But what about you!"

"I'll be fine!" Jack stood up and pulled Jamie with him. "Now go!"

The young teen ran out of the house, but stopped and looked back.

"Run!" Jack demanded. "Go get-!"

The spirit stopped short, eyes going wide in surprise. He dropped to his knees and lipped a word that made Jamie run faster than he had ever gone before, even as a kid.

"Help..."

**X.X.X.X.X**

North sat up and stretched. Blinking, the man scratched his "Naughty" arm and walked out of the office.

"Jack! Wake up!" he bellowed, walking into the hallway. Stopping at the white door, he knocked on the wood. "Jack?"

Receiving no answer, North opened the door and peaked his head in. A smile crept across his face at the bumps in the sheets.

"Sorry Jack. Night time is over." The Cossack walked over to the bed and shook the figure.

He froze at the strange feeling.

Quickly, he flung the blanket off and stared in shock at the pillows below it. Hoping Jack had just got a snack, he ran to his office. A sigh of frustration came from his mouth at the sight of the missing staff and broken ice.

Cursing, North stomped into the Globe Room and made his way to the switch for the Northern Lights. The second he activated it, another portal formed behind him. Jamie tumbled out, tears in his eyes.

"North!" he cried. "We have to go! Please!"

"Why? What is wrong?"

"It's Jack! Pitch got to him!" The teen took in a shaky breath before continuing. "He told me to run and get you. All I saw before running was him falling to the ground!"

"What is it now, ya gumpy!" A hoke appeared in the ground as Bunnymund hopped out. "What did Frostbite do this time?"

Sandy appeared not much later with Tooth and Baby Tooth following.

"Jack left the pole." North started towards the ice tunnels, yelling a yeti to ready the sleigh. "According to Jamie, Pitch got to him."

"What?!" the others cried. All but Sandy, who instead had a sand exclamation point and question mark above his head.

"No more chit chat!" he yelled over his shoulder. "To sleigh!"

It took them less than five minutes to get to Burgess. Bunny didn't protest about the sleigh ride for once. Everyone only had one thing on their mind; _Jack_.

"This way!" Jamie yelled, running over The Lake and into the woods. The others followed him, just as determined to save their frost spirit.

**X.X.X.X.X**

As Jamie ran off for help, Jack was left alone with Pitch. A dark chuckle started behind him.

"Well isn't this nice!" the man teased. "Jamie's going to bring more friends!" The dagger stuck in Jacks back suddenly twisted, causing the teen to yelp. "I may not be strong enough for all of you, but I can take out you while I can."

A hand snaked around his throat and pulled him to his feet. Pitch took the teen away from the door and threw him on the ground, blade still in his back. Jack struggled onto his hands and knees, took deep breaths, and stood up shakily. "I may not survive this," he whispered just loud enough for the Bogeyman to hear. "But I won't go down so easily."

Pitch struck out with his sand, missing the teen by a few inches. Jack jumped to where his staff lay near a beat up couch. Flipping around, he shot ice at the incoming black sand, freezing it. When the black particles disappeared, Jack looked around the room for the older man, breathing heavily the whole while.

Shifting from behind caught his attention. Spinning, Jack blocked the black scythe from hitting his head. Forcing Pitch back, Jack ran up the stairs and into his old room.

The moment he opened the door, he stopped. His bed sat in the corner, the covers ripped and dirty. Emma's bed was on the other side of the room in the same condition. The window between the two beds was cracked and matted with dirt. Jack couldn't help the flashback of when the room was in top shape, his sister sleeping and him sitting on his bed.

Shaking his head, Jack shut the door, propping a chair against it for safe measures, and sat on Emma's bed. Reaching his hand behind his back, his pale hand gripped the blade handle still stuck in his ribs. Gritting his teeth, Jack slowly pulled it out.

A small yelp was let out at the end, but he kept it in otherwise. _'Dang it, Jamie, hurry!'_

"Oh, Jack..." a silky voice said behind him. "You should know I travel through shadows, not doors..."

The white haired teen was thrown across the room, crushing his old bed under his weight. Struggling to get onto his hands and knees, he coughed out the red liquid building up in his mouth. He sat there for a few moments, just trying to regain his senses. His head hurt from the crash and his vision was blurry. The teen really didn't want to fight like that.

A hand gripped his brown hair and yanked Jack to his knees. An all-too-familiar blade was held to his neck.

"I can kill you right now, Jack..." Pitch's voice whispered smoothly in his ear.

Jack swallowed down his fear, lifting his chin slightly. "Do it then."

The dark man sneered and pushed the blade just enough to brake the skin. Someone called from outside, causing him to pause.

"Jack...?"

Brown eyes widened. _'Jamie... I told him to get the Guardians! Not come back!'_

Pitch seemed to notice his tense look and smirked. "Looks like we have some visitors..."

**X.X.X.X.X**

Jamie cautiously walked the path, the other Guardians behind him. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Jack...?"

Bunny's ears flicked around, trying to detect any noise. "I don' know, mate," he said after getting nothing. "Ya sure this is the place? There's no sound."

"I'm positive." The mortal never took his eyes off the house, searching every nook and cranny. "Jack said it was his old home. From when he was mortal."

"I say we cut the chatter," North bellowed, "and get in there then!"

Sandy shook his head. "Sandy's right," Tooth said, fluttering around nervously with five mini-hers flying with her. "We can't just barge in. Pitch probably already knows we're here!"

"If this is the righ' place..."

"Bunny! If Jamie thinks it is, we should at least-"

**_CRASH!_**

All five of them looked up in time to see a brown, blue, and red blur crash through the already broken top window. It fell from the height, skid in the snow and hit a nearby tree. A red trail from where it skid was left behind in the snow.

"JACK!" Jamie yelled, running over to his friend.

Pitch, looking worse than before after the small fight, strolled out the front door and smirked at the scene. "Jack's quite clumsy, falling out of the top story window."

The teen dropped to his knees beside the now brown haired immortal. "Jack...?" he whispered shakily, blocking out the screams and fighting coming from behind him.

Jack's brown eyes cracked open to look at Jamie. "I told you... to get the others..."

"I did! They'll help you! Just after Pitch is taken care of, than it's you!"

"No... I didn't want you to..." He was interrupted by a few coughs. Trying to help, Jamie helped the spirit sit up against the tree. He wasn't sure if that's what would help, but it was better than doing nothing!

Taking a deep breath, Jack continued. "I didn't want you... to come back..."

"Of course I would!" The younger boy took his hand. "You're my brother, remember? I'm not just going to leave you!"

Jack let out a single, dry laugh while a smile crawled across his face. "Thanks."

Jamie looked behind him to see if the others were done fighting. No. "Someone! Please, just help him!"

"Jamie..."

His head shot back to the injured spirit. His brown eyes were barely open. "It's... Okay..."

"Jack, you'll be alright!" Jamie gripped his hand tighter, tears brimming his eyes. "Don't give up!"

"Don't forget... Me..."

A tear fell down his cheek. "Never..."

A small smirk graced Jack's face. "And tell Bunny... I... Also froze his carrot garden..."

Jamie couldn't help but laugh at that. Taking a quick glance behind him, he sighed in relief at seeing the Guardians rushing towards the two. "Tell him yourself! He's coming. All of them." He turned back to the almost asleep spirit, tears streaming down his cheeks. "They'll help you. You'll be fine, Jack!"

Jack didn't answer. His hand fell from the grip of Jamie's, dropping to the snow. His chest stopped moving, eyes closing.

"No..." Jamie whispered. "No! Jack, wake up! Please!"

Bunny bent down and wrapped his arms around the crying mortal. The body in front of them got whiter and whiter until all that was left was a pile of snow.

**X.X.X.X.X**

Jamie walked through school the next day. They had spent an hour trying to move all the snow that was once the Spirit of Winter into the house and set the staff besides it. Pitch had been kicked back into his lair, beaten worse than four years ago. There, he was left to the mercy of his Nightmares.

Jamie was heartbroken, to say the least. The closest thing he had to a brother was gone. Killed because of weakness. Dead because of lack of believers.

Gone because his friends stopped believing.

He knew it wasn't totally their fault, but he couldn't help but be mad. This was his "Brother"! Even after all the signs and proof that Jack Frost was indeed real, they put it off as a dream.

"Hi Jamie!" Pippa said happily, walking up to his locker.

"Hi." The teen grabbed his books, shut his locker, and walked off. The girl stared at him in confusion and made a silent note to ask later.

Caleb and Claude were the next to walk with him. "Hey!" the said at the same time. Jamie just set his books on his desk and walked off, leaving two very confused twins.

Monty tried to get him to talk during 6th grade math, to no avail. Jamie had been like a robot during the first three classes, and they all agreed to talk to him during lunch.

When he sat at an empty table, the teen was immediately joined by his friends. Resting his head on his hand, he stared at them. "What?"

"'What?'" Cupcake stated. "You've been avoiding us all day! What's wrong?"

Pippa leaned forward. "Did someone in your family die or something?"

Monty looked at him in shock. "Did you have to put Abbey down?"

"No..." He almost told them. But then remembered they would just think him childish. "It's nothing."

Claude shook his head. "It's obviously something."

Jamie glared half-heartedly. "Fine. It's nothing you guys would care about."

"What is it?" Pippa asked again. "Why aren't you telling us? Do you not trust us?"

Pulling his hand away from his face, he stared at his friends. "Fine. Jack died. Not that you guys would give a crap!"

"Jack... Frost?" Caleb asked wearily.

"You still think he's real?" Monty asked, pushing his glasses up.

"He was, until you guys stopped believing." Jamie stood up. "Thanks to you, he died. So I thank you for dooming the only thing I had as a big brother!"

As he stormed off, the others looked at each other in confusion and worry. They never forgot about their childhood friend, but they had thought it was just a d dream! Their imagination!

Was it really?

**X.X.X.X.X**

The day had gone by slow, but the night even slower. Jamie had lots of homework and studying to do. Which was worse than the actual classes.

Saying goodbye to his mom, the teen walked out into the snow, head hung. Each step caused the snow beneath him to crunch softly.

He knew the rout to school by heart. Walk to the church, turn at the stop sign, and go straight. He didn't even have to look up.

But something caused him to.

It was just a feeling. A feeling like something was different. And he was very surprised at what he saw.

Every building had a paper snowflake. Some blue, some white. But all were covered in sparkles. Posters were stapled to telephone poles, each said something similar to each other.

The teen ran up to the nearest blue sign and read the white hand writing.

_"Winter Solstice coming soon! Watch for Jack Frost or he'll nip your nose!"_

A sob escaped his throat at the name. He smiled, knowing the handwriting anywhere.

When he got to school, after putting his stuff in the locker, the first thing he did was look for his friends. He found them at the end of the 6th grade hall, talking in a tight circle.

Running up to them, Jamie hugged Pippa from behind.

"Thank you guys so much..." he whispered, tears still in his eyes.

The group joined together in a group hug, all laughing. The bell rang, ruining the happy mood. The kids said their goodbyes and ran off to class.

First through third period went by faster than the day before. Jamie for once wasn't fully paying attention. He just wanted it to be lunch.

When third period was over, the teen immediately made his way to the cafeteria, meeting his friends at the same table as before.

"So you believe in him again?" he asked, just to make sure.

Pippa nodded. "If you did, than there's a reason to."

"We made the posters in hope more kids would too," Cupcake added. They smiled again and got up to get their food.

When school was over, Jamie thanked his friends again and headed home. There was a light snowfall, just barely covering the ground in white sparkles. The snowflakes made the posters stand out beautifully.

He passed three small kids, maybe 8-10 years old, all looking at one of the posters.

"Who's Jack Frost?" a girl with sandy blond long hair asked.

"I don't know..." the brown haired boy beside her said. "Do you think he makes it snow?"

"That be so cool!" the last ginger kid said, a smile on his freckled face.

"I wanna meet him!" The girl jumped up and down in excitement.

"Let's go. I'm cold." Jamie smiled at the three as they walked away.

"Maybe he will get a few more believers..." he said to himself as he continued walking.

A snowball hit him in his back, some flakes going down his shirt. He shivered and laughed, spinning around. "Come out here, Caleb! I know it was you!"

Silence.

"Pippa?"

Looking around for any of his friends, he found no one on the street. He cocked his head. "Okay...?" Turning, Jamie started to walk again.

A cold, strong force shoved him back, knocking snowflakes into his face. He fell back, the Wind just catching him before hitting the ground. "Wind? What are you-?" The teen was pushed forward, forced to walk. "-doing!"

The Wind carried him through the neighborhood and into the forest surrounding. The farther he went, the colder it got. A foreign breeze whipped at his jacket while the spirit behind him pushed him towards it. Snowflakes again hit his face, getting stronger and sharper as he was carried. By the time they got to The Lake, it was pretty much an all out storm.

"W-why am I out h-here?" the mortal muttered, rubbing his arms. "I-It's f-f-freezing!"

Ignoring him, the Wind threw him forward. Yelping in shock, Jamie prepared to meet the soft snow.

Instead, he was met with soft fur.

"Da hell?"

Jamie about backed away when the warmth of the body beside him sinked in. The owner of said fur turned around and gripped him in a hug. "What'a ya doin' out here, ankle bita? It's freezing!"

"I-I could ask you the same th-thing, Bunny."

Bunny bent down to get a better grip on the cold mortal. "North told meh there was ah storm in a single area. Course he sends me to deal with et."

"The Wind dragged me here, literally."

The pooka sighed. "I don' have time to bring Ya back. Come on."

Keeping the kid close and using his body to protect him from winds, the over sized bunny continued towards the eye of the storm. Wind tried to stay with them for comfort, but it was getting hard to tell what was the spirit and what was the howling gusts trying to blow them away. Bunny blocked his eyes with a paw as he trudged on.

Finally making it to a beautiful yet still destructive part of the storm, they saw the snow, clouds, and wind circling the old cabin. The noises of the storm echoed through the air, sounding like a mother screaming for her lost child. Bunny and Jamie stared in both confusion and wonder at the sight in front of them before Wind blew them forward. "Righ'!" the rabbit said. "Sorry."

Inside the house was a bit better. Only a little. Snow and wind still blew through the rooms, all circling a single spot similar to a tornado. Ice and frost covered the ground and walls, making it hard to stay upright with the powerful forces blowing all around them.

"Bloody hell..." Bunny mumbled, tucking the teen in his arms tighter to his chest while his ears flattened on his head. "It's bloody freezing! Can't even think straight! Cold's messin with mah mind."

The storm seemed to speed up in the room. The house groaned as it tried to stay in one piece. A blue glow started to form from the inside of the tornado, lighting up the area around it. The light got brighter and brighter, pretty much blinding Bunny and Jamie. It became impossible to tell what was Wind and what was the storm in the craziness of the room. The rabbit curled around the teen as much a possible and hoped the storm would stop soon.

With a quick burst, the snow exploded, cutting off the sounds of the wind. Small snowflakes gently fell to the ground, buffeted only by Wind as it wrapped around the two living beings. The bright blue light was still there, looking like a large, blue star. The two covered their eyes, blocking out the blinding light.

Behind the shade of their hand, the blue glow began to fade. Jamie was the first to put his arm down, even if it was just a little. His eyes widened at the sight.

"JACK!"

Bunny, at hearing this, dropped his paw to see. Sure enough, there stood the Winter Spirit. He looked similar to when they last saw him, clothes ripped and cuts covering his skin. But he wasn't coughing, breathing heavily or have brown hair.

His blue eyes cracked open as he groaned. "What happened...?" he mumbled, a hand gripping his white hair. The pain from earlier came back, causing him to fall to his knees.

Jamie ran forward to help him. "What the heck! When Sandy had died he came back better than ever!"

Bunnymund hopped forward. "Probably 'cause that's what he was like before Pitch 'killed' 'em. Jack was beaten beforehand."

"Than get the Guardians!" Jamie's brown eyes flicked towards Bunny but quickly went back to Jack.

Nodding, the pooka made a tunnel and hopped away.

Now alone, Jamie paid full attention to the immortal. "Jack?"

Blue eyes cracked open. "Jamie...?"

A smile graced Jamie's lips. He wrapped his arms around Jack. "Yes! You scared me so bad!"

The white haired boy held back a yelp, not wanting to ruin the moment. He smiled and returned the hug.

"Hey Jamie?"

The teen pulled away to look at his friend. "Yeah?"

"You didn't tell Bunny, right?"

Confusion crossed his face. "What?"

Jack smirked. "The carrots."

Jamie's expression brightened with realization. "Oh that! No, why?"

Jack laughed slightly. "Good... Don't want to have a kangaroo yelling at me after I came back from the dead. Again."

The two laughed again while waiting for the others to come.

**Yay! First one-shot!**

**Hope you liked it! Review your thoughts, but I would appreciate no flames. :3 **

**THERE IS A SECOND CHAP. Sort of. While writing it, I couldn't decide what ending to use. I had three possibilities. I combined two here, and I'll put an _alternate ending _in the second chap. **

**This was the happy ending, the other, not so much. **

**If you don't like death/sad endings, I suggest ya don't read the alternate ending. :3 **

**Follow, Favorite, and Review! Thanks! Peace!**

**~BloodBlossom88**


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